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No. 4 Huskies Undo No. 12 Bruins, 3-1

SEATTLE - The fourth-ranked Husky volleyball squad kicked off the Midnight Madness festivities at Bank of America Arena tonight with a four-set victory over 12th-ranked UCLA. Washington (16-1, 6-1 Pac-10) entertained a season-high crowd of 5,018 that continued to swell throughout its 25-19, 26-24, 24-26, 25-18 win over UCLA (13-6, 3-3 Pac-10).

The Huskies rebounded nicely from their first loss last Saturday at Stanford, topping a Bruins squad that came in third in the conference and had swept its last two matches against Cal and USC. The match was characterized by stretches of great defense, but UW wound up outhitting UCLA, .232-.157 for the match. A season-high five Dawgs had double-digit kills, led by the 22 of senior Tamari Miyashiro. Junior Kindra Carlson led the offense with 18 kills, and seniors Jill Collymore and Airial Salvo had 12 each.

The crowd reached near capacity by the time set four rolled around, as the match was to be followed by the first practice for the men's basketball team.

'The crowd was awesome. I thought we played really well at points, we just have to do it from start to finish,' head coach Jim McLaughlin said. 'In crunch time we showed some signs when the pressure was on. We did some good things at the end of game two and then pulling away when we were down [in set four] and opening up a big lead; I thought we showed good composure.'

After UCLA opened with the first point, Carlson served UW on a five-point run. Rowland picked up UW's first kill of the night, then tipped the next shot and the Bruins were caught off guard. Carlson's first ace of the night was followed by two more UCLA errors and it was 5-1. Rowland and Hagglund combined for UW's first block on the evening for a 7-4 lead. UCLA got within one, but finishes from Carlson and Salvo on the next two points was followed by a block into the open court by Salvo and the Bruins needed time with the Dawgs up 10-6. The Husky wall rejected another attempt and a Salvo kill made it 12-6. Washington saw its lead trimmed to 19-15, but Carlson jumped in from the back and tipped it over for a kill to get things going in a positive direction. Collymore sent the ball bouncing off the block after a long rally for 24-19. The Bruins took another T.O. to quiet the crowd, but they didn't plan for Hagglund to dump her first kill of the night and give UW the 25-19 win. The Huskies outhit the Bruins, .278-.135 in the set, and were led by five kills apiece from Carlson and Salvo. Hagglund had an impressive 14 assists in the set.

The teams held close early in set two until a Carlson put-away and UCLA error gave the Dawgs a 9-6 edge. A bruising finish from Collymore was followed by another ace from Carlson that the Bruins mistakenly thought would sail long. That made it 11-7 UW but the Bruins netted the next three points until Hagglund dropped another ball back over her head to end the run. Washington broke a 12-12 tie with a kill from Salvo, then two UCLA miscues forced them to take time with the Dawgs up 15-12. A stern block from Salvo and Dunaway made it 18-13. The Bruins got within two on several occasions, then an ace from Todorovic made it 20-19 and the Huskies called their first timeout. Collymore earned the kill but UCLA came back with a block. Rowland's sixth kill had it at 22-20 but UCLA got the sideout again. Another Bruin block tied the set, and UCLA took the lead with a Sather finish, forcing UW to call another timeout. Salvo found the floor on the next point, but a UCLA service error cost it a set point. The crowd jumped to its feet after a long rally was ended by another Salvo kill, and the Huskies had a set point of their own with UCLA taking time again. Hagglund floated a serve and UCLA's Mari Hole played it over and out and the Huskies had survived, 26-24.

Washington hit .244 for the set while UCLA was held to .130. Carlson had five kills while Salvo had four kills and seven digs.

Set three began with block assists from Collymore and Rowland. UW struggled with its serve early, giving up three errors, but Washington got back even when Salvo struck her first ace of the match. Collymore earned a solo block to tie things again at 9-9. UW and UCLA continued back and forth, with kills coming from Carlson and Collymore to aid the Husky cause. The Bruins jumped out to a 14-11 lead and Coach McLaughlin called time. Hagglund won a showdown at net and Rowland placed an ace amidst the Bruin defense to get back to 15-14. Lauren Barfield's first kill of the night made it 17-15, but UCLA responded with two more kills and the Huskies called time again. It was 21-16 UCLA when Collymore's kill got UW the serve and a tough Miyashiro service led to an overplay that Carlson sent back down, and UCLA needed a break. Collymore took the serve at 23-21 UCLA, and a long rally was stamped out by Rowland and Hagglund, who rejected Hole to get UW within one and force another Bruin timeout. Collymore's serve disrupted the Bruins again and they couldn't get a good attack, however Carlson could and tied the set at 23-all. Collymore's next serve went long, however, earning UCLA set point but its attack went wide. Gil and Hole blocked Carlson's next attack, then Gil finally got the set for UCLA with her fifth kill. The Huskies hit .182 while UCLA was at .200 for the set.

Rowland followed a kill with a tough serve that produced a UCLA error to dig UW out of an early hole in the fourth. A Miyashiro ace backed up by a Collymore kill got the Huskies even for the first time at 9-9. On the next point, Rowland laid out for a pancake dig that was set up for a Salvo back-row blast and UW had its first lead. UW took at 12-10 lead on defense, laying out for several outstanding digs that garnered an eventual Bruin error. Salvo painted the line with a kill, and then Collymore dialed up an ace and UCLA needed time again with the Dawgs charging up 15-11. UCLA clawed to 17-16 UW, but Barfield sent one down to snap the run and a Salvo ace slid the lead back to 19-16. Carlson punished an overpass for 21-17. Washington's defense continued to be rock solid, and long rallies on the next two points were eventually silenced by kills from Collymore and Rowland. A crushing block on the next point made it match point at 24-17, and after saving one match point, the Bruins found the net and the Dawgs had found a victory.

After the slow start in set four, UW wound up outhitting the Bruins, .231-.159. Miyashiro had 10 digs in the fourth set alone, and the Huskies picked up three aces to none for the Bruins.

Washington will have another battle on its hands tomorrow night when 16th-ranked USC visits for a 7 p.m. match.